Wide, wide world of sports

Sports really do come in all different shapes and sizes. There are the most obvious competition sports that come to mind - baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer - but the range beyond those staples is tough to fathom.

It got me to thinking. Is there a place that lists every sport contested in the world? Of course.

Wikipedia (hey, save the Wikipedia flak for a second) actually has such a list, and it is fascinating.

The categories never seem to end, and with that in mind, since I respect those of you who read this, I won't list them all.

What I will do, though, is find a few sports on the list I have never heard of.

Fistball - This seems to be a variation of volleyball, only it's played on a grass field. If you were wondering, the current world champions are Austria for the men and Brazil for the women.

Ringo - No, Beatles fans don't take turns benchpressing Ringo Starr. As they explain it, this is a game contested mostly in Poland where two teams take turns on a court, similar to volleyball, hitting a rubber ring to each other without it hitting the ground.

(I have to say, I love this video because it sounds like one of those science lab videos we'd have to watch in junior high.)

Kite fighting - Oh there's no misunderstanding folks. Two people get together with kites, and the goal is to bring the other person's kite to the ground. This is apparently a very popular sport in Nepal and Afghanistan.

Considering I don't think kite fighting can be beaten, I think my work here is done.